New iPad impressing more buyers, tops Consumer Reports tablet picks

Overall customer satisfaction with the new iPad, the only "excellent" tablet according to Consumer Reports, is slightly above the 97 percent rankings of last year's iPad 2, but significantly more users are now reporting they are "very satisfied."

A report by ChangeWave indicates that 98 percent of new iPad buyers say they are satisfied with their purchase, a one percentage point increase over iPad 2.

However, 82 percent report being "very satisfied" with the new Retina Display iPad model, a jump over last year's iPad 2, where 74 percent of users responded similarly.

Among the features of the new iPad that impress users were its high resolution Retina Display, which 75 percent of users listed as their top three favorite details, along with 22 percent liking its long battery life, 21 percent calling out its 4G LTE data service option, 20 percent citing speed, 18 percent its newly improved camera, and 13 percent citing the wide range of apps available.

Among the tops downsides of the new model, 26 percent said they'd like a cheaper iPad while 23 percent complained about the cost of mobile wireless service. Asked about iPad heat issues, 89 percent said they hadn't experienced any problems, and none reports it to be a "very big problem."

Consumer Reports says new iPad the only "excellent" tablet

Despite recording the highest temperature readings among a series of lab testers seeking to find if the new iPad was really running hotter than the previous model, or other similarly specced tablets or notebooks, Consumer Reportssays it "didn't find the temperatures to be cause for concern."

The group has listed the new iPad as a "recommended" product, and describes it among 9-12 inch tablets as the only one achieving an "excellent" rating, saying the "high-resolution screen of the new iPad establishes a new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we've ever seen on a tablet display

"Performance on the new iPad ($500 to $830) was superb in virtually every other way as well," the site states. "The 5-megapixel camera took very good photos. Verizon's 4G network yielded very fast, dependable connectivity to a 4G-compatible version of the iPad in our informal tests. And despite the energy-intensive display and graphics, the iPad still has longer battery life than all other tablets."

Highlighting the "standout performance of the new iPad's screen," the site stated, "we have recalibrated our standard of excellence for tablet screens. The iPad alone now receives an excellent overall score for display quality.

"A number of current models, including the iPad 2 (which remains on sale and is a fine performer), that received excellent scores under the past standard will now be adjusted to receive very good scores overall. Likewise, some models that received good scores may also be adjusted downward, and some overall scores have changed slightly."

In 2010, the magazine generated some controversy over refusing to list iPhone 4 as a "recommended" product due to testing it ran that suggested the phone had a defective antenna design, after first stating that there was "no reason" to not buy an iPhone 4.

A year later the group began recommending the iPhone 4S to customers, stating that Apple's latest handset "doesn't suffer the reception problem we found in its predecessor."

I have the new iPad 16 gig wifi only( I ain't paying for no goddam 4g!) and it is awesome as hell. Build quality is excellent and the screen is magnificent.
Here is my dream feature for the next iPad or the next after the next:
I want to be able to write on the ipad as if I'm writing on paper.
NO LAG. Or lag so minimal I wouldn't notice it.
That would be awesome!

Everybody else might as well just pack it in, because your shit sucks.

The new iPad is great! I began reading a new book on it last night, and it is most impressive, to put it mildly.

Many developers have been real quick to release updated versions of their apps to take advantage of the retina display, and almost everytime that I reach for the iPad, there's a new update or two or three waiting for me in the app store.

1) LOL All that bellyaching about the iPad being heavier and thicker is going backwards. How Steve Jobs would haev never allowed it. How the new display is overkill and that no one really cares about it. Yet... we see the most attractive feature is the new display and size/weight is not an issue to most. In fact, the data plan which Apple doesn't control and isn't even part of all iPads 3x more of an issue, according to ChangeWave.

I think many on tech sites aren't realizing the iPad (3) is lighter and thinner than the iPad 1. I don't think Apple expects for everyone to buy a new iPad every year. Conclusion: Apple made the right choice to go with the Retina Display.

2) Interesting how cost is an issue despite being so competitively priced that competitors aren't making headway with 10" tablets. The closest is a glorified eReader with inferior parts and construction being sold at a loss. The Kindle Fire isn't a bad device for the money, but neither are $300 notebooks. They are what they are.

I've had an original iPad since Day One, 3 April 2010, and have used it at least two hours / day...until I received my new iPad on 16 March this year. Now, just for comparison's sake, I occasionally fire up the original to see how it feels after using the new one. The screen alone makes the (3) worth it, with sharper than sharp images and text, and deeper / richer colors. One has to see it to fully appreciate it, and one has to use the new iPad for quite some time to get a feel for how much better the reading experience is. The new screen is by far the best of any screen on any device I've seen. Truly, Apple has outdone themselves, and the wannabes are going glub, glub beneath the waves.